From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI) Newsgroups: clari.tw.education,clari.news.group.blacks,clari.news.issues.civil_rights,clari.local.pennsylvania Subject: Women withdraw racial harassment charge against student Keywords: higher education, education, blacks, special interest, civil rights, social issues Message-ID: References: Date: Mon, 24 May 93 12:49:32 PDT ACategory: usa Slugword: freespeech Priority: daily Format: daily ANPA: Wc: 432/420; Id: z4545; Sel: xxndh; Adate: 5-24-350ped; Ver: 1/0 Approved: clarinews@clarinet.com Codes: yndhdxx., ynjadxx., ynxhdxx., xxxxxxxx Lines: 43 PHILADELPHIA (UPI) -- Five female University of Pennsylvania students Monday withdrew formal racial harassment charges against another student, saying Penn's judical process was ``corrupt'' and that the media was slanted against them. The five women, all African-American, alleged that they were the subject of a barrage of racial epithets and slurs during Penn's Founder's Day celebration last January, with one student ordering them to ``shut up, you black water buffalo.'' The women filed a racial harassment grievance with the university against freshman Eden Jacobowitz, 18, of Long Island, N.Y. But the women said Jacobowitz and his legal advisor turned what should have been an internal racial harassment case at Penn into a national case on freedom of speech. Both sides were placed under a gag order following a hearing last week. Because they could not respond publicly to questions, the news media slanted its coverage of the case in favor of Jacobowitz, the woman said. They said the judicial process at Penn failed them and ``has proven to be corrupt, which substantiates our belief that we would not receive justice.'' ``We were victimized on Jan. 13, further victimized by the media, and thereafter by the judicial process and agents of the university,'' said Ayanna Taylor. ``Based on our experiences...we have concluded that the system is not designed to protect our rights.'' At a news conference following the women's action, Jacobowitz agreed with the women on one point. ``I could not believe how corrupt the judicial system is,'' he said. Although admitting his remarks to the women were rude, Jacobowitz said there was nothing racist in them. He also repeated that he was willing to apologize to the women, who were members of a sorority. Penn President Sheldon Hackney said the board's inquiry into the case ended when the women withdrew their grievance. Earlier Monday, the Penn judicial inquiry board had ordered a full hearing of the case in the fall. The women were on a lawn outside a dormitory celebrating Founder's Day when the alleged harassment occurred. Jacobowitz said when he yelled ``Shut up, you water buffalo,'' he was simply expressing his displeasure at the women for making noise while he was trying to study. The women said he called them ``black water buffalo.'' In addition, they said, others in Jacobowitz' dorm building shouted ``nigger,'' ``bitch,'' and ``fat asses,'' and said they should take their celebration down to the Philadelphia Zoo.